The November 2019 issue of UNCUT magazine had a cover story about Wilco. It included a 17 track CD of bands covering Wilco (called WILcovered or WILCOvered). I really enjoyed this collection and knew most of the artists on it already, so I’m going through the songs one at a time.

This was the last song on this compilation and it’s my favorite.

There’s a lot of Wilco songs that I like and “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” is way at the top. The song is really long and doesn’t change a lot but the changes are fantastic. One of the great things about the song is Nels Cline’s insane guitar work throughout–noisy and seemingly uncontrolled, but somehow fitting in perfectly with the 1-2-3- bass line.

This version by Twin Peaks is as good, if not slightly better than the original. I say that because the band sounds a little fuller during the verses which I like (although it does make the change to the noisier section less dramatic). And Nels Cline;s guitar work is more interesting than the Twin Peaks version–although they do some cool things too.

I think Twin Peaks has a bit more of the heavy alternative sound the I like. The vocals are great, the guitars are great. I’ve now listened to both versions back to back and I like them both!

This cover actually made me investigate Twin Peaks more and I was bummed to find out that they had just played a show in our area after I had listened to this song.

Next time!

[READ: February 20, 2020] Princeless: Volume 5

This book opens with Adrienne and Bedelia enjoying a cleansing bath in a lake (I assume). While they are getting clean, Adrienne mourns the state of her hair. How often she has tried to straighten and control the knotty curls on her head. And after some serious thought, she has Bedelia shave it all off. I love that when she pops out of the water newly shorn, she looks gorgeous–well done Emily Martin. On a less great note, there’s a scene in the water where Bedelia, who is a strong and rugged half-dwarf lets not forget, is drawn with a waist that would be about 10 inches across in real life–bad form Emily Martin.

In book two, Devin and Kira are trotting along (with the tough Kira getting nauseous on the back of a horse). When suddenly Kira smells… an elf. And it is her duty to kill it. Kira dives on the elf’s travelling companion, who is Prince Wilcome. The elf, named Tempest, quickly disarms Devin and takes his sword. They are at an impasse.

Next we jump to the dwarf kingdom. There are two male guards out front discussing music and almost come to blows during their argument, calling each other girlie and arguing which one is the real man. But when another dwarf comes along shouting Dragon, we find out that the dwarf dragon slayers are all women. They prep themselves and get ready to make dragon stew. After a kiss between Benna and Gretta they fling the dwarfs through the air from a catapult. (more…)

The November 2019 issue of UNCUT magazine had a cover story about Wilco. It included a 17 track CD of bands covering Wilco (called WILcovered or WILCOvered). I really enjoyed this collection and knew most of the artists on it already, so I’m going through the songs one at a time.

I’ve know of The Handsome Family for a long time, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard them before. “Capitol City” is also a bit of a mystery. It appeared on a Wilco bonus disc (for the deluxe edition of The Whole Love). I assumed it had something to do with The Simpsons, but I guess it doesn’t.

This is a kind of honky-tonk version with banjo and “gadgets” as part of the lineup. It’s fun with lots of weird sound effects swirling around this otherwise conventional song.

I wish you were here. Better yet, I wish I was there with you.

[READ: February 20, 2020] Princeless: Volume 4

Sir Gahiji the Hunter has learned that Adrienne is actually not dead and is in fact the knight they are all after. He shares this information with the Black Knight. They instantly fight and the Black Knight knocks out Gahiji (or Cat Hat, since he wears a wolves’ head on his head).

Back at the castle, the King grabs Devin and brings him along to the forest where the encounter the remains of the Queen’s carriage. The King says he thinks the Black Knight is responsible. The King then introduces Devin to the wolves (Kira scares the daylights out of him).

Amazingly Devin and Kira soon bond well enough. The leader of the wolves says that he wishes his daughter were inquisitive like Devin. The King says he’d rather have Kira in battle–he’s seen rabbits with more courage than his son. In the background we see Kira and Devin climbing all over his mother’s empty chest. When he comes out he stands tall and says “I’m going on a quest to save my mother!” (more…)

The November 2019 issue of UNCUT magazine had a cover story about Wilco. It included a 17 track CD of bands covering Wilco (called WILcovered or WILCOvered). I really enjoyed this collection and knew most of the artists on it already, so I’m going through the songs one at a time.

This was my introduction to Puss N Boots, a group consisting of Catherine Popper, Sasha Dobson and …Norah Jones? They’ve been getting some buzz lately (of course) and it’s interesting to have my first exposure to them through this cover of one of my favorite Wilco songs.

This has a great slow rocking sound. It’s got minimal instrumentation (no drums), just electric guitars and bass. The women harmonize really nicely.

I really like this version, although whoever is singing lead (Catherine or Sasha) has that weird thing that singers seem to be doing now where it almost sounds like a speech impediment on the letter r. The way she sing skyscrapers so it almost sounds like skyskwrapers. And cry sounds like cwry.

It’s a thing that I’ve heard a lot lately and I can’t quite wrap my heard around it. It’s not an accent, but what is it?

Regardless, I do like this version. The opening electric guitar is great and their voices work very well together.

[READ: February 19, 2020] Princeless: Volume Two

I like the artwork y in this book so much better than the first. I feel like Emily Martin brings a whole new level of greatness to this series. The coloring is also much more vibrant. It’s possible that the printing I had for book 1 wasn’t very good, but this book is fantastic.

The book opens with Adrienne’s father speaking to the bravest knights of the land: Sir Rocks the Mighty; Sir Gahiji the Hunter (who wears a wolf head on his head); Sir Raphael the Handsome (a poet and a vampire); Sir Walsh the Braggart; Sir Zachary the Pure (who serves the gods); and The Black Knight, the king’s fiercest of friends. They have been summoned to kill the knight who made off with Adrienne’s head and bring the head of her dragon. Whoever can do so will win his daughter’s hand in marriage. (Which daughter? someone whispers).

Devon is angry that his dad is doing this so he goes to talk to his mom. But she has plans–she is leaving and going to visit her parents. He can’t believe she is running away too.

Back to our heroines. We see them flying on Sparky, with Bedelia hanging from a rope and swiping food from the cart of a thief who stole the food in the first place. But Sparky isn’t the most coordinated of fliers and soon enough, Bedelia and Adrienne wind up in a tree. Again.

They manage to regroup and are sitting near a fire eating their plunder when a dandy prince shows up. His name is Roderick Lovelorn and he is a poet. He calls her fair lady and i love that there’s a running joke that she is not fair–fair means pale and she is not pale, she has brown skin (and kinky hair) thank you very much. He is heading home to his muse. The lady whom all seek to see but none dare to touch.

As he goes on like this, Adrienne gets annoyed because she realizes that he is talking about…her sister Angelica. (more…)

The November 2019 issue of UNCUT magazine had a cover story about Wilco. It included a 17 track CD of bands covering Wilco (called WILcovered or WILCOvered). I really enjoyed this collection and knew most of the artists on it already, so I’m going through the songs one at a time.

I was not familiar with Kacy Anderson and Clayton Linthicum (a Canadian folk duo).

This song has a bit of menace in the delivery. I’m not sure if it’s the way Kacy sings a bit like Aimee Mann or in the bass/organ combination. The original is a bit more spare (although still minor key).

The guitar work (from Clayton) is very pretty, both the initial acoustic and then the sharper electric. There’s a great guitar solo mid-song.

I really like this version and will definitely check out more from this duo.

[READ: February 19, 2020] Princeless: Book One

After heaving read book three in this series, I figured I should go back and see how it all started. This book collected issues 1-4.

This book opens with a cartoony drawing of a fairy tale. A princess in a tower is saved by a handsome knight and they get married and live happily ever after.

On the next page, the little girl hearing the story says it is complete hogwash.

Then the girl, who is our heroine, Adrienne, lists the plot holes:

What kind of dragon dies from one blow?
How does the prince get the princess from the tower. He climbed? And then climbed down with her? Because she sure didn’t with those toothpick arms.
And who would put a princess in a tower, what kind of grudge would you need against her to do that?
Plus, the cost of a tower would be more than her dowry!
You’re gonna put a dragon, a wild animal, in charge of your daughter. What if it wanders off? What if it kills her?

All she knows is when she turns 16 her parents better not put her in a….

cut to next page tower. We see poor 16 year-old Adrienne locked in a tower guarded by a (very pink) dragon. The dragon is named Sparky and this dragon is not too scary. Well, she is since she is a dragon, but she’s not as scary as some dragons. I mean, she does manage to eat all of the knights who try to rescue the princess. (more…)

The November 2019 issue of UNCUT magazine had a cover story about Wilco. It included a 17 track CD of bands covering Wilco (called WILcovered or WILCOvered). I really enjoyed this collection and knew most of the artists on it already, so I’m going through the songs one at a time.

This is a slow, spacey, trippy cover with gently echoing synth, big echoing drums and a processed echoing voice. I really like the original of this song and I find this cover to be a little too slow for my liking.

However, the overall sound of the song is very cool, especially the chaotic ending.

[READ: February 2, 2020] Princeless, Vol. 3

This book said Book 3 on the label but it seemed like it was starting form the very beginning. It wasn’t until after I finished it that I read that this is in fact book 3 but it is a kind of spin off of sorts. The main character of this story, Raven Xingtao, is actually not the main character of the series. I did wonder why the two other characters on the cover, Adrienne and Bedelia, are not really introduced here–they are introduced in the first two books, obviously.

So this story starts with a story. We learn of Ming Two-Tails the fiercest pirate to ride the sea. Her ship was called The Just Wind because she and her crew were so silent sailors thought it was just wind they heard.

The man who is telling the story ends with “And that’s what you’ll be like someday, my little Raven.”

Turns out Ming was Raven’s great-grandmother and Raven was so inspired that even as a little girl she was ready to fight. She asked her dad to show her how to use a bow. Her dad smiled and said she will not be a helpless princess.

Cut to the next scene and Raven is in a tower. She had been there 90 days with no one looking for her. Until a pink dragon flown by Adrienne Ashe and Bedelia Smith flies in. They ask if Raven needs help. She does. So Adrienne lands and looks for a fight. (more…)

Second of three shows for the Horseshoe Tavern’s 70th anniversary celebrations. Kindly recorded and provided by Mark Sloggett and Matt Kositsky.

The opening music is Echo and the Bunymen’s “Killing Moon” and Jonathan Richman’s “Ice Cream Man” until 1:20 when the guitar for “Stolen Car” starts playing. It’s a quiet intro section and Martin sounds good. At 6 minutes the overall sound increases dramatically for about 20 seconds. It’s a shame it doesn’t stay that loud because otherwise the show is too quiet. An absolutely scorching solo between Martin and High Marsh.

A somewhat subdued and quiet version of “King of the Past,” Hugh adds some soaring violin at the end.

The usually kind of flat “AC/DC on My Stereo” is spruced up by Hugh’s violin. But the mix is really unfortunate–the overly loud guitar masks the rest of the song.

Dave Bidini: That song was written by Dave Clarke on the drums (and my friend Brodie Lodge) Clark: a shout out to Davide DiRenzo and our friends in Ensign Broderick–Ensign, Griffy (Gordie Wilson), Danny, Glenn Milichem on the drums. (Glenn tried to steal martin for his band Vital Sines…it only proved he had great taste) but he got Gordie Wilson and it all worked out.

A solid fun version of “PIN” with a “Dirty Blvd” tag at the end. It’s followed by a long (nearly 8 minute) jamming (Hugh get a pizzicato violin solo) version of Stompin’ Tom’s “Bridge Came Tumblin’ Down.” DB: This song would have been played oh 37 years ago on this very stage. Some songs just stick around longer.

They retell some stories about Vancouver (the song is about Vancouver)–diaper dancers and people stealing wallets. Vancouver leads the nation in diaper dancers. A good piece of advice is to take your wallet on stage. But not in Vancouver!

DB: We’re not a rock band, we’re a public service. In a plant a seed and watch it grow into a tree sort of way. Information is our fruit. Melody is our bark. Stompin’ Tom is our hero. Well, one of them.

“Here Come the Wolves” sounds different, but very cool. I like this version. Clark shouts the verses and Martin sings a quiet verse. After Clark introduces Bidini with an Italian accent the band launches into an impromptu Italian song. Bidini says they haven’t done that song in 7000 years, although, ironically Hugh is more Italian than any of us. Tim: Once you do that kind of thing you’re scarred for life.

Clark asks Martin if they are going to do the end of the next song a certain way. DB: gives away the ending? Clark: Asked his bibliophile lady (and her friends)—do you read the last page the book first? They said yes and it blew his mind. And then they’re happy to read the book. Its like having an orgasm without foreplay… or not really actually. DB: I’ve done that many times myself MT: You know this sex thing that everyone is talking about…what happens at the end? DC: You get a little plastic toy out of the bottom of the box. That’s why they call it Cracker Jack. DB: And then you feel shame. MT: The shame part I’m comfortable with.

DB to the fan: You realize that by shouting for the next song you’re further delaying the next song, just so you know. These guys would never do that they are seasoned fanstomers. Then inevitably someone shouts “play some music” and that’s when the gig is fucking over.

A quiet and pretty “It” (in which Hugh plays some beautiful soaring sounds) is followed by a raucous “Michael Jackson.” Instead of Michael Jackson, he sang Auston Matthews a Maple Leafs player. Mid song they start chanting whoop whoop whoop while Martin plays “Sweet Child of Mine.” DB: “It’s called having fun it’s what Axl says, it’s what Slash says, it’s what Jimmy Page says, it’s what Eddie Van Halen says, it’s what Kathleen Hannah says, it’s what Patti Smith she says, it’s what Michael Stipe he says, it’s what Gord Downie he said, it’s what Tom Connors he said, it’s about having fun. It’s hard. It’s really hard.” The crowd woo woo woos and sings the “it feels good to be alive” ending. It’s a cool moment.

I used to be that I’d Used to hear “You rock Dave” and it was for me, but now I’m sharing it with a stage with my best friend Dave Clark. It’s nice. Not saying I’m comfortable with it I’m saying it’s nice.

Clark goes on about being warm and swaddled and like a child.
Someone shouts: You can never go back.
Clark: Oh yea you can be a child all your life if you got the right ideas. Age is a matter of the mind–if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.

This leads to Tim’s pretty, acoustic “Rear View.”

Someone: “C’mon Martin sing one.” DB: “Yeah Martin, what the fuck?”

Clark introduces the drum beat of the next song “pluh dee dut dut, pluh dee dut dut ding.” When someone shouts something inaudible, Clark replies, “Apples and oranges pizza and Popsicles man.” DB: ” I think you just came up with the name of our next record.” This is a lead in to Northern Waltz. Which DB says is a progressive waltz. Clark: It’s the Ostenick 3/4. Tim: Another potential album title. Walter Ostenick, a cool guy who watched them soundcheck. Tim Mech bought an accordion from him. They start the song and martin gets choked up–Clark: It’s the ghost of Walter inhibiting you….devil come out! He tries again and things go well in a beautiful version.

Martin plays a beautiful solo version of Tragically Hip’s “Bobcaygeon.“

During the pause there’s all kinds of weird shouted requests. “Play some Skydiggers.” “Play some Blue Rodeo.” DB: “You’re kinda 0 for 2. We don’t do those groups.” Clark: “You realize that those guys are our friends.”

Play “Secret Heart” by Ron Sexsmith! C’mon do it!” DB: “You realize we’re not sitting in your car right now, eh.” Clark: “Thelonious Monk says never engage with hecklers, so here we go.”

“Dope Fiends” sounds great and the band seems really into it with Martin shouting “Why didn’t they stay here? How come, Hugh, why?” Clark gets a drum solo and it ends with a rollicking conclusion and soaring violins from Hugh.

“Self Serve” opens on a quiet guitar. I almost didn’t recognize it, the way it was played. It is very pretty. The ending gets pretty harsh with Martin snarling “you ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?” before a rocking ending with everyone singing “I will be kinglike!”

This encore break exhibits this new thing that I’ve heard people do at shows where they chant “one more song,” which drives me nuts because some bands like the Rheos will actually play half a dozen songs, and you are limiting them, so knock it off!

Audience: “I love you Dave Bidini.” DB: “I love you too, stranger, strange man. Are you that strange man that I love?”

Merch plug: Give us your money and we will convert it into rock n roll magic. You can take the things with you and replay the nights tonight for eternity—ish. Plug for West End Phoenix.

This leads to a quiet acoustic version of “My First Rock Concert.” DB: “Dave Clark tell us about your first rock concert. Dave sings “Don’t Worry, Baby,” about The Beach Boys in 1973 The Surf’s Up tour. He was 8 years old. Wicked show! Ricky Fataar on drums (he also played with the Rutles!). Martin: My first concert was in 1981. I went to Convocation Hall and I saw Bruce Cockburn with Murray McLaughlin and in the band was Hugh Marsh. Tim: That doesn’t sound very rock to me. In his diary Martin wrote, “This audience is very intelligent,” I thought rock shows would be full of assholes… like tonight. That was my first rock concert. First and last. After the song: Was that guy the same Hugh Marsh? Yes and John Goldsmith.

DB: I’m having a shitty lapel weekend. Martin: Another one? No, you’re just fixated. It’s puffy, but it’s not that bad. Any tailors in the audience? Dave needs an emergency.

We’re in Hamilton at This Ain’t Hollywood. It’s sold out. There’s still a few tickets for tomorrow night. Good luck to TFC tomorrow. Tim: Don’t tell the Thursday night people about tonight’s show because it wasn’t quite as good last night.

Martin starts a chuuga metal riff and Clark says, “What have you got for us, Tony Iommi?” DB: here’s a song about hockey and also about being gay and living in a small town. Tom Cochrane do not write it. It’s a solid “Queer.” For the second verse, Tim sings Cochrane’s “Big League,” (Sorry I was daydreaming for a second) then DB sings REM’s “I am Superman” They try for the high note. DB: “Kinda.” Clark: “It’s always worth trying. If you’re not failing, you’re not doing.” Clark sings “Stepping Stone” which segues into “I’m a Believer.”

After “sometime choices aren’t so clear,” instead of the end it turns into a drum and violin jam which somehow segues into a funky instrumental jam and then into “Alomar” at the end. Tim says “And what song were we playing? We don’t have to finish that.” Clark quips: “We don’t even have to Swedish it…. Let’s Latvia alone. It’s okay, I’m a little Estonia’d right now.”

What do you guys want to hear? [Horses, Aliens, Palomar, Wreck of the Edmund]

Thanks, we have fed all of the data into the super computer which has come up with the exact right thing to play at this time.

Thanks to Ensign Broderick and everyone in the band Jason for opening the show.

DB: I was going to try to play “Purple Haze” but I don’t now how. I thought you were doing Buddy Guy. I don’t know, do we know any Eagles?

Here’s a song by the Eagles called “Horses.” The Eagles featuring Rabbit Bundrick, Skunk Baxter, Philthy Animal Taylor, Gullible Guinea Pig and Hammy Hamster. “Horses” starts quietly and intensely (with great backing vox from all present). After the first “holy mackinaw, Joe,” it totally rocks out. Dave also calls Red Deer a “fucking shitty town” (!). They shift briefly into “We don’t need no education (sloppy).” And the concert roars to an end with Martin making some great horse sounds on his guitar.

[READ: November 28, 2018] When I am King

Demian 5 (Demian Volger) created a hilarious and good-looking webcomic back in 2001 (hard to believe). It was finally put into print form this year.

I love the clean lines and style that a webcomic (especially one from 2001) necessitated. It also means the artist is going to have to think of ways to differentiate the characters who, for the most part, look pretty similar. And Demian 5 does a great job with that.

In the (bilingual) introduction, Demian 5 explains that he has been editing the historical findings of his ancestors for some 15 years, trying to make this account readable and accessible. “It was my goal to reproduce these historical hieroglyphs without detracting from the information they contain.”

And what that means is a wild and wonderful story about royalty, nudity (amusing and non-detailed), bestiality and flowers. (more…)

If Tiny Desk was set anywhere other than Washington D.C. I would never have heard of go-go. It is a regional funk style that seems to have never left the area and of which the DC crowd is very proud.

Go-go — Washington D.C.’s regional twist on funk — reigned in the DMV during the 1980s, and one of the scene’s signature acts was Trouble Funk. More than 30 years later, the collective — led by Big Tony Fisher — still fills sold-out venues with heavyweight percussion and call-and-response lyrics. Trouble Funk concerts are bona fide jam sessions, so I was determined to squeeze their unrelenting rhythms behind the Tiny Desk. While the late Chuck Brown is often acknowledged as the godfather of go-go, Trouble Funk was a key part of the sound’s second wave.

And considering that the band is decked out in matching Trouble Funk baseball uniforms, it seems like they have no intention of going anywhere (clearly not all of the members are original).

How do you fit 12 members behind a Tiny Desk? Put the horns: (Dean Harris (trumpet), Eric Silvan (saxophone), Paul Phifer (trombone)) on the right. Put the drummer (Tony Edwards) on the left and the hugely important percussionists (Chris Allen and Larry Blake) back and center, anchoring everything.

Then you have the keyboardists (Allyson Johnson and James Avery) and the guitarist/vocalist David Gussom (only one guitar in the whole band of 12 people!).

Right up front you have the two singers Derrick Ward and Keith White and orchestrating the whole thing is Big Tony Fisher (bass/vocals).

They begin with the 1982 banger, “Pump Me Up”, which has a great watery funky bass sound (from the keys) and tremendous percussion. All of the verses are rapped in a 35-year-old-style–rhythmic more than rapping (with lyrics about Calvin Klein and other jeans, Superman, Studio 54 and Fat Albert). Four of them take a verse, but the show is all about Big Tony Fisher, who has got this great deep voice.

Incidentally, this song was

sampled in Public Enemy’s protest anthem “Fight the Power” and M/A/R/R/S’s dance classic “Pump Up The Volume.”

I need to hear the original to figure out what was sampled.

The drums breaks here are definitive go-go and it was hard to discern who was having more fun: the band or the audience.

As they shift to “Grip It,” you can hear the change of style but not intensity as the song shifts and “buoyant and staccato horn melodies propelled the song forward.”

It segues to “Let’s Get Small” through a funky bass line. It features Trouble Funk’s classic call-and-response chants of “I like it!”

The music stops but the rhythm continues as they segue into “Drop the Bomb,” “another notable gem from their lengthy discography which keeps the energy level high.”

“Don’t Touch That Stereo” was the first song where I couldn’t hear much of a difference between it and the preceding song. And I realized that they’d been playing nonstop for nearly 14 minutes–all in a similar funky style. It’s a great fun party even if the individual songs are kind of beside the point.

They did take a short break as Tony introduced their first hit from 1979 “E Flat Boogie.”

I’m rather surprised that go-go never took off anywhere else, since, as the blurb says, the music “inspires a spirit of dance, rhythm and sheer joy.”

[READ: July 7, 2016] “Fable”

This was another story that I found strangely unsatisfying.

I feel like this story was almost perfect but that there were elements that prevented it from being so.

Since it is called “Fable,” it begins with “once upon a time.” But we know that it is not a real fable exactly because the next part is “there was a man whose therapist thought it would be a good idea for the man to work though some stuff by telling a story about that stuff.”

His first attempt is short and dull: “one day the man woke up and realized that this was pretty much it for him.” (more…)